They could not be more different films. But the mind-boggling special effects extravaganza Avatar, the low-key British drama An Education and the gritty Iraq movie The Hurt Locker lead the way in the Bafta shortlists released today.

All three films received eight nominations for awards which will be presented in a month's time at the Royal Opera House. After that, the most nominations – seven – went to the South African sci-fi film District 9, with Inglourious Basterds and Up in the Air receiving six each.

The BBC film An Education, Nick Hornby's adaptation of the journalist Lynn Barber's memoir of how, as a teenager, she was seduced by a well-off predatory scoundrel, is nominated in both the best film and best British film categories. Its star, Carey Mulligan, is up for best actress and Alfred Molina, who plays her buttoned-up father, is shortlisted for best supporting actor. The other nominations are for best director (Lone Scherfig), best adapted screenplay, best costume design, and best makeup and hair.

It will contest the best film slot with Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Up in the Air, and the much-praised account of a young girl's horrible life in Harlem, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire.

In the best British film category, the other nominations are Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank, Sam Taylor-Wood's John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy, Armando Iannucci's In The Loop and Duncan Jones's Moon which last year won the best British independent film award.

The former married couple James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow will contest separately the best director category along with Quentin Tarantino and – wouldn't this be a surprise – the South African Neill Blomkamp for District 9.

In the best actress category, Mulligan will be up against Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia, Audrey Tatou for Coco Before Chanel, 15-year-old Saoirse Ronan for The Lovely Bones, and Gabourey Sidibe, the lead in Precious.

For best actor, Andy Serkis is nominated for his warts-and-all portrayal of Ian Dury in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll. He is up against Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker, George Clooney for Up in the Air, Jeff Bridges – who won a Golden Globe this week – for Crazy Heart and Colin Firth for his portrayal of a gay lecturer in A Single Man.

Kristin Scott Thomas, who played Lennon's aunt in Nowhere Boy, and Anne-Marie Duff, who played the singer's mother, will face each other in the best supporting actress category along with Mo'Nique in Precious and two stars from Up in the Air, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick.

The Bury-born British actor Christian McKay is nominated in the best supporting actor category for his portrayal of Orson Welles in Me and Orson Welles. He is up against Alec Baldwin for It's Complicated, Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones and Christoph Waltz for his film-stealing portrayal of an unhinged Nazi in Inglourious Basterds.

The Baftas, now positioned before the Oscars in March, also has a category for an outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer. This year's winner will come from Taylor-Wood, Stuart Hazeldine for Exam, Eran Creevy for Shifty, Duncan Jones – the son of David Bowie – for Moon and the four directors and producers of Mugabe and the White African.

In the foreign film category Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or-winning The White Ribbon competes with Jacques Audiard's A Prophet, Pedro Almodóvar's Broken Embraces, Anne Fontaine's Coco Before Chanel and Swedish vampire movie Let the Right One In, directed by Tomas Alfredson.